ARIGATO

Another great word. ARIGATO, as most of you may know, means "Thank you".
But do you know how this word came to be?

It is supposed to be pronounced ARIGATOU, with a "U" in the end. (Btw, Japanese pronounciation is similar to Spanish. Forget your English accent and recall your Spanish course!) The "R" is like the spanish single "R" in the middle of a word, or near to an "L" sound.

"Arigatou" comes from the word "Arigatashi", which means "very difficult to happen". "Arigatashi" + "gozaimasu" (meaning "it is") became ARIGATOU-GOZAIMASU, literally meaning "It is so difficult to happen!", or "Too good to be true". And to make it short, we say ARIGATOU. ARIGATOU-GOZAIMASU will be the proper way of thanking somebody elder or of higher position.

That is why this word can be used to express appreciation to non-humans too, such as good luck, god, nature, and happennigs. It may be nearer to "Gracias" or "Merci".